


Papa's Li'l Pumpkin

by ArcticLucie



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Just lots of fluff ok, M/M, Pumpkins, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, halloween fluff, probably smut in part 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-21 21:47:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8261453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticLucie/pseuds/ArcticLucie
Summary: Rick and Daryl take their kids to a pumpkin patch.





	1. Pumpkin Patch

**Author's Note:**

> I needed some fluff ok! Halloween fluff to be exact, so I wrote this thang. 
> 
> Carl's 6, Judith's like 10 months or so.

Daryl’s back hurt like the dickens. He’d spent all day wedged under the hood of a piece-of-shit Oldsmobile at the garage, and he regretted every second of it. But the world would have to do a helluva lot worse before he dared to even think about putting his little girl down in the middle of the rowdy crowd. 

Judith had just started walking, and the kids rushing by combined with the uneven grass had him clutching her tight against his chest. He’d lost sight of Rick and Carl in their excitement, but he never got the whole hype about Halloween. He’d seen enough scary shit in his day, no need to go trudging it all back up with fake blood and clichéd movies. Just give him the candy, and he’d get on with his day.

But Carl had insisted they go to the pumpkin patch out by Hershel’s farm. They’d passed it on the way into town one night after picking the kids up for the sitter, and Carl wouldn’t let it go, which he’d attribute to Rick’s stubborn streak, though he couldn’t deny his own. Rick caved first—weakling—and after a very convincing shower session, he begrudgingly acquiesced.

Daryl spun around, eyes squinting, when he heard a familiar little voice yelling “Papa,” but he couldn’t spot Carl among the children zigzagging through the field. 

“Dare,” Rick hollered to him, and he turned to find both his boys waving him over to the edge of the corn maze. He shook his head, but Rick’s face lit up with a smile, and he just couldn’t resist. What could he say? The man had him charmed.

“We’re gonna get lost in there all day,” Daryl grumbled when he reached them. Judith started kicking as soon as she saw Carl, her little happy dance at seeing her big brother.

“ ‘M sure you could build us a shelter if the sun starts ta set,” Rick purred as he slipped his arm around his back, but Daryl was wise to the way he started leading him into the maze.

“And a fire,” Carl added. Judith had her little fist wrapped around her brother’s thumb, and okay yeah, he knew they deserved memories like this. Just because he didn’t have any didn’t mean he’d deny his kids of them.

“Might find some crows for dinner,” Daryl said, flashing a wink at Rick when his husband slipped his hand into his back pocket. 

Carl jumped up and down at the suggestion. “Yeah! Let’s go huntin’.”

“Didn’t bring my bow. Prolly more likely ta find some rats or corn snakes, anyway.”

“Cool!” Carl said as he wiggled free of Judith’s grasp to skip ahead of them.

“Don’t go too far,” Rick instructed.

Daryl let out a grunt when Judith started to squirm, flailing her arms as she squawked for her “Bubba.” They had to call him that because she’d sounded like a pirate when she first attempted his name. Not that it wasn’t cute, but Carl didn’t appreciate it. Upon further reflection, letting a then-four-year-old see _Pirates of the Caribbean_ had been a mistake. Two years later, he still had nightmares. Rick feared they’d scarred him for life.

“Want me to take her?”

“With those bird legs ‘a yours,” Daryl teased, bumping Rick with his shoulder, but it only worked to fit them tighter together. “ ‘M fine, just as long as we don’t spend too long in here.”

They moseyed through the maze for a while, doubling back a few times as they enjoyed Carl’s efforts to lead them. The sun’s rays felt good on his bare shoulders, but despite the tall corn, the chilly autumn wind still managed to seep in. At least he’d had the foresight to bundle Judith up.

*

“Come on, put her down,” Rick pleaded as he and Carl stood by the scarecrow Carl had already climbed all over. “The ground looks good here, and it’s her first corn maze. We need pictures.”

“What if that gang ‘a brats comes runnin’ by again?”

Carl set his jaw and squared his shoulder. “I’ll hold ‘em off.” 

Daryl held in a smile at the adorable gesture and nodded when Carl saluted him on his way by. 

“All right! We got the best watchman on the job, now put her down Dixon,” Rick said, an eyebrow rising in challenge.

He scowled at Rick as he kneeled down and started fiddling with the baby harness. “Best make this quick. We still gotta get some pumpkins.”

“Hey, Jude,” Rick cooed. He held up his phone in one hand and waved her to him with the other. “Come see Daddy!”

Daryl let her hold onto his hands as she got her balance, and smiled despite himself as she took a few steps. “Yeah, sweetheart! Jus’ like that.” He slipped his fingers free and waited until she gathered the courage to take a step on her own. Daryl’s breath caught in his throat on every little wobble, but she cleared the distance to Rick in one go.

Rick grinned like mad when she reached him. “That’s my girl!” He scooped her up and gave her a big kiss on the forehead displacing her big orange bow. Daryl almost melted at the sight when she tugged on Rick’s beard and squealed with laughter. “You’re gettin’ so big!” Rick gave her another kiss and set her back down. “Okay, can you go back to Papa?”

Her jagged-toothed smile had Daryl chuckling when she lit up with excitement. “Gonna come back ta me, sweetheart?” With a flailing of arms, she took off toward him, but her brain must’ve gotten a jumpstart over her feet because she stumbled and fell into the dirt. It should’ve gotten easier—they’d already gone through this with Carl—but his heart stopped anyway.

“She’s fine,” Rick said, picking her up and dusting her off. “Yer fine,” he repeated as her bottom lip began to quiver. His smile had a way of charming her too because instead of a cry, she started to giggle. After a brief pep talk, Rick reset her. He stayed a little closer on the way back and caught her when she stumbled again, but Daryl sighed in relief when he finally got ahold of her.

“Good job, baby!” He kissed a chubby cheek and went for the baggie of spare wipes he kept in his pocket.

“You did it, Judy!” Carl praised as he rejoined them.

“Boy, you been eatin’ mud pies?” Daryl scoffed. 

“No!” Carl insisted as Daryl took to wiping the dust of his face. Carl groaned and batted his hand away. “Can we go get pumpkins now?”

“Yeah, let’s go get us the best punkins in the state,” Rick said as he helped settle Judith back against Daryl’s chest. Then he picked Carl up, and after a few well-placed tickles, sat him upon his shoulders. “Which way to the exit?” Carl had a great sense of direction, which Daryl liked to attribute to all their family time spent in the woods, so it didn’t surprise him when Carl led them out of the maze.

*

“Sophia!” Carl shouted when he spotted his classmate across the field. “We have to say hi.”

Rick hefted Carl up and over his head before placing him on the ground. “Of course, it’s the polite thang to do.”

Once again, Carl led the way as they moved through the crowd. Sophia and her mother, Carol, waved as they approached. “Hey guys! What brings you here?” Carol greeted.

“Jus’ checkin’ out the maze,” Daryl replied.

“And getting pumpkins!” Carl added.

“We ain’t leavin’ without cider,” Rick reminded them.

Daryl put his hand on Rick’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You’ll get yer cider, Grimes.”

“Do you mind if we join you?” Carol asked, but the kids had already taken off for the pumpkin patch.

“We’d love that,” Rick said. 

Daryl nodded in agreement, and off they went.

*

“Here, I’ll take her,” Carol offered, stretching her arms out toward Judith once they’d reached the patch.

Daryl let her go, but only because Carol made the list of one of the few people he entrusted her care to. As much as he loved his girl, he felt grateful for the reprieve. His back had started to spasm, and he needed to stretch it out a bit. At least he’d get to sleep in tomorrow and rest it… if the kids let him. 

“Papa?” Carl called.

“Come on then,” Rick said, motioning toward Carl and Sophia with his head. “We all know he associates you with foragin’ and food.” He smiled as he held out his hand, and Daryl took it, their fingers locking together as they strolled through the rows of pumpkin vines and haystacks. “It’s a good day.”

Daryl had to agree. He grinned at Rick and met him halfway for a sweet little kiss. “Always is with you.”

Rick looked just as good as the day they met, blue eye sparkling in the fading sunlight, unruly curls wafting in the gentle breeze, and that gait giving his hips a little more sway than necessary. He had a touch more gray now and faint lines around his eyes when he smiled, but Daryl reckoned it just made him hotter. It still amazed him he’d convinced the man to marry him, and don’t even get him started on their babies.

“Papa, look at this one,” Carl said as he held up a pumpkin almost half the size of himself.

“We ain’t carryin’ yours, so y’all best find ones that ain’t too heavy.”

Carl’s face fell for a split second before he’d already set eyes on another. He dropped the big one and joined Sophia near a vine of smaller pumpkins.

“You jus’ wanted that one for yourself,” Rick accused.

“Shut it,” Daryl said, bending down and picking up the one Carl had dropped. He grunted when he did so, and thank god for his husband who sometimes rivaled him in stubbornness. 

Rick snatched the pumpkin away from him with a huff. “Give me that. You ain’t fit ta carry anythang right now.”

He stretched his neck and back, Rick eyeing him when they popped. “Next year we’re bringin’ the wagon.”

Carl came running back up to them with a more modest-sized pumpkin wrapped protectively in his arms. “How ‘bout this one, Papa?”

Daryl squinted as he inspected it and then gave a sharp nod. That had Carl’s face lighting up as he danced a happy jig before he went back to helping Sophia pick out her own.

“Kid’s got a good eye,” Daryl said, his chest puffing out with pride.

“He gets that from you,” Rick replied, pinching his ass as he sauntered by. “Le’s get a move on, babe. The sun’s goin’ down, and we still gotta get some cider.”

Once they’d picked out enough pumpkins for all of them, they carried their haul up to the checkout booth. Rick insisted on paying for Carol and Sophia’s, much to the former’s protest, but he wouldn’t have it. 

“We should get one a' those big ones too,” Rick suggested with a smirk as he handed the girl a few twenties.

“Such a size queen,” Daryl whispered to him. They both laughed, and he had to shake Carl off when he asked what was so funny.

“Is that everything for y’all this evening?” the girl in the booth asked.

Daryl shook his head. “Nah, we need one a' those big ones over there and a jug a’ that cider.”

“Yer too good ta me,” Rick cooed in his ear as his hand ran up and down Daryl’s spine.

He winked back in reply.

After saying goodbye to Carol and Sophia, they loaded up Rick’s jeep with their pumpkins and started home. Judith fell asleep before they arrived, and by the way Carl’s chatter had tapered off, he figured their boy wasn’t too far behind.

“You take her, I’ll take him, and we’ll worry about the pumpkins in the morning,” Rick said as they pulled into the drive.

“Meet ya in bed in twenty.”

Daryl rolled his eyes when Rick waggled his brows. Yeah, he married a dork, but damn if he didn’t he love ‘im.


	2. Pumpkin Graveyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More family fluff with a nice little treat at the end. ;)

Daryl made it to bed first. He chuckled to himself as he listened to Rick and Carl brushing their teeth in the hall bathroom. Yeah, he kind of drew the lucky stray on that one. Judith only needed a diaper change and a bottle before she went down for the night. Carl had jammies to pick out and that new electric toothbrush he’d gone wild for.

He rolled over onto his belly and sunk his face into Rick’s pillow. It smelled like him and the faint trace of lavender from their laundry detergent. They bought the fancy kind in the hopes it would help Carl sleep better. Some nights he had terrors, but the pediatrician assured them he’d grow out of it. 

The door squeaking shut had him turning his head. He watched Rick shuck his shirt and throw it toward the hamper. He missed, but exhaustion kept Daryl from chiding him for it. 

“What a mighty fine view,” Rick said, voice low and husky as it dripped over him like honey.

“Ain’t better than mine,” Daryl replied, his eyes falling down Rick’s bare chest to watch him unfasten his jeans.

Rick stepped out of them and went for the side table. He rooted around in it for a moment before pulling out the massage oil. Daryl sighed in relief that he hadn’t gone for the lube. He’d had a long day at the garage and the pumpkin patch pushed him well beyond tired, but if Rick really wanted it, he’d have to do all the work.

“I don’t like you comin’ home like this,” Rick said as he climbed on the bed, knees settled alongside Daryl’s hips.

“Like you’re a spring chicken,” Daryl scoffed when he heard Rick’s knees going off like firecrackers.

Rick leaned down and muffled a laugh in his neck. “Never said I was. Jus’ don’t want my baby workin’ himself ta death.” Rick pressed kisses to the back of his neck that had his toes curling, but just before he could change his mind about that lube situation, Rick sat up and twisted the top off the bottle of oil.

Daryl let out a long breath when warm, slippery hands began to work him over, his whole body relaxing under Rick’s tender touch. After starting with his shoulders, Rick massaged his way inward along the ridge of muscle, but Daryl soon had him moving down his spine. “God, yeah… right there.”

“Jesus, darlin’, you sound like sin,” Rick teased, digging his palm right into the worst of it.

Daryl had to bury his face in the pillow to keep from crying out at the pain, but the longer Rick rubbed, the better he felt. The warm oil cooled when it came in contact with the night air and offered the perfect amount of respite from the stressors of the day. Sometimes he really didn’t know how he’d gotten so damn lucky.

Once he’d worked the kinks out of his lower back, Rick’s magical hands traveled upward again. Daryl almost reached for the lube himself when he felt Rick’s cock slide up the split of his ass through the fabric of their boxers, but then Rick collapsed on top of him in a heap of heat against his back.

“ ‘M sorry, babe, but those kids a’ yours wore me out,” Rick whispered in his ear.

“You an’ me both.”

Daryl flipped himself over and turned off the light as Rick nuzzled against his chest. They’d need the covers once the room cooled, but for now, his arms only had strength for one thing: holding Rick.

***

Daryl slept like a baby, and if one of theirs had woken in the middle of the night, he hadn’t heard them. However, he did hear the giggles emanating from the living room as he sat up. Rick’s side of the bed felt cold, which had him smiling to himself. He really did have the best husband in the world.

He dragged himself out of bed and grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the dresser along with an old t-shirt. As soon as he walked out of the bedroom, he spotted Carl in the hallway and watched as his eyes went cartoonishly large.

“Dad, he’s awake!” Carl yelled. He tried to turn tail, but Daryl caught him by the shoulders and pulled him close.

“What are y’all up to, li’l man?” Daryl asked, raising a skeptical brow.

“I’ll never talk!”

“Oh yeah?” Daryl went in for the tickle as he hefted Carl up. “How ‘bout now?”

“Never!” the kid chuckled back. Daryl flipped him upside down and honed in on his weak spot, the feet. That got the wheels moving. “I-it’s Daddy’s idea! I’m jus’ the w-watchman!”

“Ah, so yer his accomplice,” Daryl said, repositioning Carl under his arm. “Well, le’s go see how much trouble y’all are in, shall we?”

“Daddy, he captured me!” Carl hollered down the hall. “I sacrificed myself!”

Daryl tried to keep a straight face, but his kid was pretty awesome. “All right, where is he?” He made a show of checking every room, even though the stench of coffee and burnt toast gave away Rick’s position in the kitchen. “I got yer watchman. If ya want ‘im back, I might be willin’ ta make a trade.”

“No, daddy! I’m not good for it.”

“Of course ya are,” Daryl said as he snickered. He repositioned Carl on his hip and backed up against the wall when he got near the kitchen. “What’s it gonna be, Grimes?”

“Yeah, I’ll deal. How ‘bout the boy for a li’l pumpkin,” Rick countered.

“Psh, surely he’s worth more than that.”

“Well, you ain’t seen my pumpkin yet.”

Daryl chanced a glance into the kitchen and almost lost it when his eyes landed on Judith sitting inside the giant pumpkin Rick had insisted on the night before. If a cuter thing ever existed, he didn’t know it. Rick had carved holes for her legs and arms and even stuck her orange bow in her messy blond hair. She smiled a toothy grin when she saw him and starting popping her P’s for Papa.

Carl slipped down from his hip and ran past him. “She’s Papa’s li’l pumpkin. Ain’t ya, Judy? You’re so cute!”

“That she is,” Rick said, smiling from where he sat on the newspapers spread out on the kitchen floor.

“I did the arms holes,” Carl boasted.

Daryl shook his head and leaned a shoulder against the frame. “Y’all are ridiculous, ya know that?”

“Yeah, but you love us, Papa.”

He laughed and nodded along. Biggest understatement ever.

“Told ya she’d be cute as a pumpkin,” Rick said. 

“I never disagreed,” he said, moving toward them. “But I ain’t cleanin’ this up.”

“ ‘Course not.”

Daryl kneeled down in front of Judith to kiss the top of her head as she squirmed. “And I guess I know why ya wouldn’t let me buy her that pumpkin costume.”

“It might’ve been a factor.”

“But she can’t go trick-er-treatin’ like this, Rick.”

“Why not?”

“For one, we can’t carry her. And two, she’s gonna get frustrated when she can’t move.” As if on cue, Judith started grunting as she made grabby hands for him. 

Rick sighed. “Well, I know it ain’t exactly practical, but jus’ look at her. She’s adorable!” 

Daryl winced when she screeched, her hands and feet pulling in as she fought to free herself from her pumpkin prison. 

“Not so much now,” Rick conceded with a shrug.

They struggled to get Judith out of the pumpkin while Daryl grumbled about ruining a perfectly good onesie that now had bits of pumpkin guts smeared all over it. “Great, she’s stuck.” 

“It’s okay, Judy,” Carl soothed when her screeching turned to cries.

Daryl reached for the small knife half concealed under Rick’s leg, but Rick swatted his hand away.

“A knife? Seriously, babe, you could cut her!”

He scoffed. Like he’d ever let that happen. Rick seemed to know that too, but maybe him pointing out the slight possibility wrecked his confidence as he let go of the handle. “How else are we gonna get her out then?”

“I did it!” Carl shouted, and they both turned to see him holding Judith, her little feet kicking up a storm as she sagged in Carl’s stubby arms.

“Come ‘ere li’l pumpkin,” Daryl cooed, taking her from Carl and bouncing her against his chest to calm her down. “They made a mess a’ you, didn’t they?” He covered her in kisses and laughed along with her as he tickled her tummy. “We gotta clean you up, sweetheart.”

“I’ll do it,” Rick said, taking her from him. “Your breakfast is in the microwave. Best eat up.”

“Why?” Daryl asked, his suspicions getting the best of him.

“ ‘Cause apparently we gotta go shoppin’ for Halloween costumes.” Rick gave him a putout look, but Daryl felt the smile on his lips when they kissed. 

As it turned out, they also needed more Halloween candy because Daryl _might’ve_ opened the bag they bought the other day to bribe Carl to keep his mouth shut when he ended up throwing half of Rick’s breakfast in the trash. 

Heaven help him; the man tried.

***

They ended up having to go to three different stores before they found a pumpkin costume that fit Judith. After lunch, an hour at the park, and half of a new bag of candy, Daryl felt blessed his kids actually liked taking naps. Or maybe he and Rick had just gotten very good at wearing them out. 

Turnabout’s fair play.

He ended up having to read Carl his dinosaur book before he’d agree to close his eyes, but he conked right out after that. It surprised Daryl that he beat Rick back into the kitchen, though it probably shouldn’t have once he heard him singing lullabies through the baby monitor. Knowing Rick, Judith had fallen asleep long ago, but his big sappy heart refused to move just in case he woke her.

Instead of cleaning up the pumpkin-stained newspapers, he stripped off his shirt and sat down in the chaos. He wanted to carve his pumpkin so he could focus on Carl when they did his later. Their boy had gotten pretty good with a knife, but Daryl still preferred to watch him like a hawk.

Not long after, he felt Rick staring at him from the doorway. “Startin’ ta make me nervous, Grimes.”

“Sorr—”

“Yeah, but if ya give me that line again about how lucky you are to have me sittin’ in yer kitchen, I’m gonna smack you.”

“Ain’t a line if it’s true.”

Daryl looked up from under his lashes and smirked at him. “Such a sap.”

Rick crossed the linoleum and sat down beside him as he peered at Daryl’s work. He’d just finished pulling all the guts out. Now he was fiddling with the damn template that came in the carving kit. He had wanted to just wing it, but Carl picked the cat for him to do, and how exactly could he tell him no? 

“Oh, I think ya missed some,” Rick said as he thrust his hand inside the pumpkin.

“Where?” Daryl asked, leaning forward to look inside. But he failed to take into account a sneak attack from Rick’s other hand. 

Rick laughed as he rubbed what Daryl knew had to be pumpkin guts into his hair. “Right… there.”

“Rick!” he snarled.

Rick’s eyes narrowed in challenge, and that set off a nice little pumpkin war that ended with bits of gourd lodged in places it had no business ever seeing. Daryl finally managed to get the upper hand and pin Rick to the newspapers, but then Rick wrapped his legs around his waist and rocked up at just the right angle. With that, the battle morphed into one against clothes instead of each other.

Newspaper stuck to Rick’s back when he sat up to strip his shirt, and Daryl snorted with laughter at how ridiculous he looked with pumpkin seeds suspended from his curls. The sticky goo had started to harden and itch on his skin, and that had Daryl thinking they could do better than a pumpkin graveyard.

He stood, his pants sliding down his hips, and held out his hands to help Rick up. “Le’s get your ass in the shower.”

“When’d ya get to be such a clean freak, Dixon?” Rick sassed, stumbling right into Daryl when he got to his feet.

His eyebrows knitted together as he thought about it. He used to be the messy one, but he kind of liked the idea of his kids growing up better than he did, presentable and cared for. They still got plenty dirty by their very nature, but unlike him, they didn’t have to stay that way when playtime ended. So excuse him for wanting to give them a home they could be proud of.

“Sorry,” Rick said, pressing kisses down his neck. “You’re tryin’ ta get me naked and I’m givin’ you shit.” Rick took his hand and pulled him toward the hallway. “Bet I can make it up to ya.”

Daryl knew better than to bet against him, so he let himself be dragged into a warm shower, and let Rick scrap the pumpkin from their bodies before hitting his knees. He tried not to think about the seeds he felt tangled in Rick’s hair when he fisted meaty fingers into it, but then he didn’t have to try when wicked tongue lapped up a bead of precome before tracing the crown of his cock.

“Fuck,” he rasped as Rick’s lips slid down to the base of his shaft. The string of curses that followed when Rick swallowed around him distorted as they echoed off the tiles.

That’s why they fucked in the shower. A lot. The water muffled the sounds Rick had a way of extracting from him. He chose to ignore the budding association he had for body wash and boners, but anal took a lot of prep, which they didn’t always have. They were busy dads after all, and shower sex killed two birds with one very sexy stone, not to mention the easy clean up.

Rick pulled off him with a pop, saliva running down his chin as the water carried it away.

_Did they at least remember to lock the door this time?_

“Yes,” Rick said as he got to his feet.

“Did I say that out loud?”

Rick chuckled as he grabbed the body wash from the shower caddy. “I don’t even know anymore.”

Daryl’s cock twitched as the milk and honey fragrance filled the air. Okay, maybe he had a problem, but that thought disappeared as soon as Rick had them both lathered up. He felt Rick’s stiff length glide up his thigh where it fit so fucking right into the crease of his hip. His hands moved around to Rick’s soapy back so he could pull him even closer.

Water pelted the back of his head as they kissed, but Rick soon had him pressed up against the cool tiles, their bodies withering together in rhythm. The smooth slide of their cocks between them had Daryl gasping for air every time Rick rocked his hips, and when he vined his calf around Daryl’s, it brought them impossibly close, upping the delicious drag of hot skin against skin. 

Daryl didn’t think of himself as a lazy lover, but sometimes Rick moved like quicksilver, and it was all he could to do hold on for the ride. So that’s pretty much what he did, fingers digging into the lithe muscles of Rick’s back as his husband grinded against him. He didn’t mind because they always ended up in the same place, out of breath with come dripping down their legs as they held each other up.

Rick’s neck smelled like water, clean and crisp, when he breathed him in. It’d do for the moment, but he knew they had half the day still to go. By they time they dragged their weary bones back to bed, he’d smell like Judith’s drool, Carl’s sticky, candy-coated fingers, and a perfect amalgamation of the two of them, of the life they’d built together.

And knowing his family, a helluva lot more pumpkin.


End file.
